Peter Pan There are new rooster regulations comin’ round the mountain in the town of Barnstable.

They won’t kill the old red rooster when they come, but town officials hope they will put a muzzle on his noisemaking.

The problem is age-old. Roosters are not good neighbors. The romantic idea that the cock of the walk harkens the beginning of each new day is just part of the story. The truth of the matter is the territorial cockerel will announce his presence to the world from morning to night. And although the fowl’s distinctive cock-a-doodle-do might conjure up a serene bucolic Currier and Ives scene to some, to others, it’s an abrasive nuisance akin to a barking dog.

“There have been some very strong complaints,” said Town Councilor Hank Farnham, the council’s liaison to the town’s agricultural commission. “In some cases, the roosters have almost brought neighbors to war.”

Ironically, the majority of the complaints don’t come from the pastoral sections of the town. The biggest violators have sprung up in the town’s densest areas, including Hyannis.

“There has been an increased interest all over town for growing vegetables, putting organic food on the table,” said agriculture commission chairman Bill Plettner.

“Along with that has come the interest in raising chickens to produce fresh eggs, which is good for everybody. Unfortunately, the problem arises when there are people who are irresponsible and are not interested in respecting their neighbors.

It’s those who are not familiar on how to raise chickens and roosters that have brought this about. Personally I was very reluctant to introduce the regulations, but it has become apparent that because of a few it is of the best interest of the town to do so.”

So it comes back to a different spin on the old NRA adage. Roosters don’t annoy people; people annoy people.

Many people who want to raise chickens don’t intend to get involved with roosters. The fact of the matter is that roosters are not necessary for egg production. You might have a bunch of lonely old biddies, but they still will produce plenty of eggs, albeit unfertile one.

The problem comes when the wannabe poultry

farmers order their chicks. Most of the time they come mail ordered. When they arrive the cardboard box (with breathing holes of course) is filled with a dozen or so downy chicks. You can’t tell the boys from the girls in the infantile state. It’s only after a few weeks that you find out that some of those in the brood are about to come out of the closet and become raucous roosters.

The next mistake the unseasoned poultry keepers sometimes make once they realize they have a dude or two in their flock is to grow enamored with the bodacious baby boy. They sometimes

give him a name like Duke, or Buster, or Foghorn or maybe even Rick Burleson. But they must remember the roosters are not part of the family

like the cat and the dog.

”It’s bad for agriculture in general and for people in general who have farm animals to treat them or call them pets,” said Plettner.

So, driven by the poor chicken management by some, the town since last summer has been working on putting rooster regulations in place. The town council vote to implement the new ordinance will most likely happen in May.

“First and foremost, it must be remembered that this is noise ordinance,” said Plettner. “We could have considered a total ban of the male bird, but we have not.”

If the regulations pass, you won’t be able to keep a rooster if you have less than two acres of land. If you do have between 2 and 5 acres, your two-legged alarm clock will have to be kept “within a fully enclosed structure designed to minimize noise” between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

As the ruler of the rooster’s roost, you’ll be required to ensure that he does not violate “another person’s reasonable right to peace or privacy by making loud or continuous noise where such noise is plainly audible between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at a distance of 150 feet from the premises where the rooster is kept, or between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. at a distance of 50 feet from the premises where the rooster is kept, or when such noise is continuous in excess of 10 minutes.”

Should the regulations pass, escalating fines starting at $25 and rising to $100 would be imposed for violations, along with the possibility of prohibiting violators from keeping roosters.

So there it is. Roosters and their owners are about to be put on notice.

Some say passage of the ordinance will bring back a sense of tranquility to the parts of town where roosters are being raised. And for many, that’s something to crow about.